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(Image Source: ZDNet)
BY COLLIN RUANE
It's official — smartphones are now the
most popular type of phone worldwide. The first quarter of 2013 marks the first time
smartphones out-shipped feature phones.
The latest International Data Corporation report shows out of the 418.6 million mobile
devices shipped worldwide, smartphones claim 216.2 million, or 51.6 percent, of the total.
(Via The New York Times)
The smartphone market has been on the rise in the past year with a 41.6 percent improvement
since the first quarter of 2012.
With these stats, MediaPost numbers the days of the simplistic feature phones, even in
emerging markets where standard devices are typically more popular.
"This tipping point in the phone market shifts the center of power to those vendors that
are most reliant on their smartphone lines."
Though this may not come as much of a surprise to some, IDC Senior Research Analyst Kevin
Restivo told ABC it marks a big shift in how people view their phones.
"Phone users want computers in their pockets ... The days where phones are used primarily
to make phone calls and send text messages are quickly fading away." (Via ABC)
CNET notes clear upticks in shipments for each Top 5 mobile company with LG seeing the
biggest increase at 110 percent.
So, which company can call itself the smartphone king?
The Los Angeles Times reports Samsung took a strong lead in the first quarter with 70.7
million smartphone shipments — that's 32.7 percent of the smartphone market share for
the quarter, dominating the next top company, Apple, at 17.3 percent.
And GigaOm says Samsung's throne on the smartphone hierarchy will likely remain unchallenged.
"Unless Samsung stumbles in a big way, it's not likely that another Android handset maker
will outsell Apple's iPhone any time soon. For all intents and purposes, Samsung is the
de facto Android standard, having built a huge audience with its line of Galaxy smartphones."
Samsung is so dominant in the smartphone market, it shipped more smartphones than its
four closest competitors combined.